In July 2008, results from several clinical trials of novel Alzheimer’s Disease treatments were presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease (ICAD 2008) in Chicago. Among these results was an 84-week phase II trial of TauRx’s Rember. Almost immediately, the mainstream media was reporting the most critical breakthrough in the history of Alzheimer’s Disease. This enthusiasm may be premature, however, and more research is needed on this new treatment option. Read more →

Sometimes we forget that doctors are just like everyday people. They have families, they are members of parent/teacher organizations (PTOs), they help their children with school projects and homework, and they, in many cases, are still repaying school loans. You name it, and yes, the doctor has probably experienced it. So too is the case with sickness. Doctors do get ill, and are seen in the local office, emergency room, and hospitals.

One of the first decisions the doctor-patient must make is whether to reveal that he or she is a physician to the healthcare personnel. This decision is not taken lightly, because the doctor, by admitting he/she is a physician, might inadvertently alter the potential physician-patient relationship. Read more →

In my previous post, The Gift of Life, I detailed the events surrounding my ongoing process of becoming a bone marrow donor. For this entry, I wanted to spend some time discussing the specifics of the process, in hopes of demystifying the concept of bone marrow donation and perhaps inspiring others to join the National Marrow Donation Program and potentially give their own gift of life.

In order to join, as I mentioned previously, all that is needed is a blood sample using the same techniques as you would for routine bloodwork. The vials are collected and analyzed, and your 6-marker screening information becomes accessible in the national database. Read more →

Welcome to the tenth edition of Drugs and Pharmacology. Today, we discuss a variety of topics from novel biological approaches to battling memory impairment to the bloody side effects of taking SSRIs and NSAIDs together.

Remember, we review the latest blogs related to drugs — medicinal, recreational, interactional, personal, professional, or any other aspects. If you were left out in this round, just leave a comment with your blog entry. You can check out the archives for every edition of this carnival. Read more →

One of the main functions of pharmaceutical representatives is to provide free samples to doctors’ offices instead of what has historically been their vocation: implementing authentic and ethical persuasion via presentations. Yet presently, samples are a priority and delivering them is the primary function for drug reps, and these samples in themselves cost billions to the pharmaceutical industry. Yet arguably, samples are the most influential tool in influencing the prescribing habit of the healthcare provider. Let me be clear on that point: it’s samples, not a representative, as the true catalyst of establishing the prescribing habits of a prescriber. Read more →

A recent issue of the journal Neurology published two separate case-controlled studies that showed a decreased risk for Parkinson’s disease associated with both cholesterol-lowering medication and blood pressure-lowering medication.

A common class of cholesterol-lowering medications, HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (also collectively called “statins”), includes the well-known and often-prescribed atorvastatin (Lipitor), simvastatin (Zocor), lovastatin (Altocor, Mevacor), and pravastatin (Pravachol). In the current study, each of these drugs, except pravastatin, was associated with a 60 to 70% decreased risk of Parkinson’s disease. Read more →